Catch A Falling Leaf
by joviality
Summary: Completed. A story on falling leaves, dying hope and making wishes. A fluffy tale set in Autumn, preHBP. Written for LiveJournal Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley FicAFest.


**Summary:** A story on falling leaves, dying hope and making wishes. Do you believe in them? Written for LiveJournal Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley Fic-A-Fest.

**Rating:** G

**Genre:** General/Drama/Fluff

**Author's Notes:** A big thank you to my wonderful betas, Reiko and Jx. I'm sorry that this is a one-shot again, I just don't have the determination to write chaptered fics…

**Disclaimer:** Jo owns the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

_

* * *

_

_Dedicated to all fellow H/G shippers_

**Catch a Falling Leaf**

Tired. That was what Harry Potter was feeling as he leaned further back against the beech tree, massaging his brows as he did so. It was the first sunny day since the beginning of the week, and like many others, he had seized the opportunity to be outside the castle, with a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ sitting on his lap. It had been a busy term since the beginning of the school year, with Quidditch (his life-long ban removed), DA (an official school club now), Occlumency lessons from Dumbledore and mountains of schoolwork. Harry had hardly any spare time left. _Which is ideal for me anyway_, he mused, as there would be no chance to brood over his unwelcome future.

"Hey."

He opened his eyes and looked to his left. Ginny Weasley, her face looking rather pink from the cold, was standing there with _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5_ in her hands.

"Hi," said Harry as he flipped a page with his right hand and motioned her to sit down with his left.

"Studying?" asked Ginny, opening her book as she settled down beside him.

"Just preparing for DA, planning lessons…" Harry gave a small smile and Ginny nodded. Together, they sat in companionable silence with the occasional ruffling of pages as they pored over their books.

A sudden movement from Ginny ten minutes later however distracted Harry from his reading. She was grabbing something in her hand triumphantly, an expression Harry knew very well, for it was how he looked like whenever he caught the Snitch in a match. Ginny's book was lying forgotten on the ground.

"Wha…" Harry's question was however cut short by Ginny's exhilaration.

"I caught a falling leaf!"

Harry stared speechlessly, looking at her like she had just sprouted something from her ears. Ginny's enthusiasm waned as she saw the expression on his face.

"Don't you know what it means to catch a falling leaf?"

"Er, no?"

"You mean no one ever tell you before? Bill told me when I was very young; I think when I was four or five? Oh, that doesn't matter. Well, catching a falling leaf means…" _She never shuts up normally_, Ron's voice sounded in Harry's head, reminding him what he had heard from his best friend all those years ago. Harry was just about to give a chuckle when Ginny poked him in the ribs to get his attention.

"Catch that leaf, Harry! Quick, before it touches the ground!" said Ginny excitedly, finger pointing towards a green movement on Harry's right. With reflexes only a Seeker would have, he grasped the leaf mere seconds before it came into contact with the grass. He turned towards Ginny and saw a big grin on her face.

"You're so lucky! Do you know how difficult it is to get a green leaf? I've only caught three before."

"You can have it if you like," said Harry as he offered the dark green beech tree leaf to her.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. You can't give it to me. Green leaves don't work that way," said Ginny, pushing Harry's hand away from her.

"Then how does it work?"

"Well, when you caught a falling leaf, especially a green one, it means that you can make a wish with it," said Ginny, looking very Hermione-like at the moment, as if the information had come from some book.

"Wish? But I don't believe in wishes," said Harry sullenly, shaking his head to emphasize the point. _How many times have I wished that Sirius was still alive, that there's someone to take me away from the Dursleys when I was younger_, he thought, looking straight at the lake in front of him. Ginny seemed to have sensed his thoughts.

"You can wish for logical things to happen," she paused, trying to avoid the topic of Sirius' death, knowing that it would upset Harry. "Besides, there'll be no harm done. My wishes do come true, you know? Well, two out of three anyway. There's nothing to lose, Harry."

Harry looked at her, still unconvinced of her statement. "What did you wish for?" He asked slowly. At these words, an unmistaken scarlet that was certainly not from the cold flared onto Ginny's cheeks.

"Promise me you won't laugh," said Ginny, her hands tugging at the hemline of her skirt, an action that Harry recognized.

"I promise I won't laugh," said Harry solemnly. It had been a long time since Ginny was nervous around him.

"Well, it's like this. I caught my first leaf when I was around five. That's when Bill told me about the meaning by the way. I had just started reading at that age, and Mum and Dad bought me those wizard children bedtime stories. Hermione may already have told you; the stories, well, you're in them. You know, you're the child-hero and all. And I… My first wish was to meet you. To meet Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the baby who saved us all from You-Know-Who."

"It wasn't me who saved the wizarding community! It was… I was…" Harry began heatedly.

"I know, I know. I was only five, Harry. I just wanted to meet the knight in shining amour from the storybooks." At Ginny's last words, it was Harry's turn to blush.

"Alright... What's your second wish then?" Ginny's face clouded over at the question.

"I caught my second green leaf towards the end of my first year," said Ginny grimly. "I wished… That someone would save me from Tom. And it came true. You saved me." She finished with her brown eyes unusually bright as she looked at him, before turning to face the lake again. An uncomfortable silence hung between them. Harry thought back to the events four years ago, how Ginny must have felt under the possession of Voldemort's memory. He shuddered. _Tonight's Halloween, and the Basilisk attacked its first victim…_ Harry's thoughts trailed off unpleasantly.

"You're a very brave girl." He said earnestly. Ginny startled at his comment.

"You're very brave yourself," replied Ginny as she smiled at him, recovering from the painful memories.

"So what's your third wish?" asked Harry, glad to stir the conversation in another direction.

"Oh. I can't tell you that. It hasn't come true yet." Ginny said mysteriously, her eyes sparkling cheerfully as she refused to let him onto her secret.

"Fine," sighed Harry dramatically as he tried a last attempt to get her to tell him. It was no use; Ginny can be downright secretive when she wanted to.

"Go on, Harry. Make your wish," instructed Ginny as she indicated the green leaf in Harry's hand.

"So how do I do this?"

"Oh. You place the leaf on your palm. Make your wish. Don't say it out loud, mind you. Then you blow the leaf away. Remember, you only have one chance to blow the leaf off your hand. If you need more than one puff to get it off, the wish may not come true. So take a deep breath before doing it."

Harry nodded; he closed his eyes and concentrated. _What should I wish for? Something logical. Like what? Sirius is out. Voldemort? Yes! That's it._ Taking a deep breath to soothe his nerves, he opened his eyes and stared at the dark green leaf on his palm. _I wish that I would defeat Voldemort and live_, he spoke clearly in his mind. With another inhale, he blew the leaf right away from his palm. Ginny was beaming beside him.

"You did it, Harry!" said Ginny brightly. "Oh, don't tell anyone about your wish, lest it not come true. And be patient about it. It took me five years to finally meet you, but I hope yours won't take too long."

Harry smiled. It may have seemed childish to believe in leaves and wishes, but seeing Ginny's so passionate about it, he could not help as optimism surged through him like a new source of energy. It was the second time Ginny Weasley had made him feels a bit more hopeful with his current situation.

"Come on, let's head back. It's getting cold," said Ginny as she tightened her scarf around her neck after a particular strong gust of wind. "Ron and Hermione should be done with the Great Hall decorations by now." She gathered her book and the brown leaf and stood up.

"Ginny – you haven't told me what it means to catch a brown leaf," asked Harry as he climbed to his feet.

"Oh, that. I'll tell you later," said Ginny. She reached out her right hand as another brown leaf descended from the tree. By the time the two of them reached Hogwarts' front doors, Ginny had collected a small pile of brown leaves in her hands.

"Harry, wait," said Ginny as he was about to step into the castle. He turned and saw her counting the leaves in her hand, before reaching into her pocket for her handkerchief.

"When you catch a brown leaf and present it to a person, the receiver will have one happy day in the coming year. Well, I've caught seven leaves in total and that will ensure you at least a week of happiness next year," said Ginny as she wrapped the leaves in her handkerchief and offered it to Harry. "I'm not sure how well this works cause' the people I gave the leaves to usually have more happy days than the number of leaves I caught for them. But it's just… Mum always looks very happy when I catch her leaves. If you don't… I mean it's okay…" Ginny faltered and lowered her hand, embarrassment showing clearly on her expression.

"Thanks, Ginny. I really appreciate this," said Harry sincerely as he took the folded handkerchief from her. After putting the small package in his robes pocket, he took Ginny's hand in his and they made their way together to the Great Hall.

A week later, Ron could be seen pulling Harry towards a corner before their first lesson of the day.

"Hey, mate. I don't mean to pry, but is there anything going on between you and my sister?"

"Huh?"

"I mean," Ron paused. "What is her handkerchief doing on your bed?"

_End._

**

* * *

Author's Notes:** I guess this should be my last Harry/Ginny piece before the release of Half-Blood Prince. Hopefully, there'll be more H/G moments in the coming book. Do leave me a review, thanks! 


End file.
